Isabella Breasted

At the age of 81, Isabella Breasted, peacefully passed away in her home in Encinitas, CA on March 30, 2023. She was born April 22, 1941 in Tucson, AZ, daughter to Charles Breasted, an author, and Martha Munro Ferguson Breasted. Her paternal grandfather was the noted archeologist and Egyptologist, James Henry Breasted, and her maternal grandmother was Isabella Ferguson Greenway King, Arizona’s first Congresswoman and the founder of the Arizona Inn in Tucson, AZ. Her maternal grandfather was Robert Munro Ferguson, a Scotsman, and a member of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in the Spanish American War of 1898.

Nature and animals were her first loves. Her love and compassion for animals of all sizes started at a very young age and never ceased. This was evident in childhood pictures showing her face to face with ducks, chicks, horses, cows, dogs, cats, and birds. Some of her fondest memories were working on the family ranch in AZ.

In 1955, she established her second home in San Diego’s north country, when she started boarding school in La Jolla at The Bishop’s School. Graduating in 1959, she went on to Cal-Western University and UC Berkley before earning her degree in Education at the University of Arizona in 1966.

Upon graduating, she took her guitar on a several month-long trip overseas where she explored, visited orphanages, and made new friends. She eventually settled back in the San Diego area in 1978.

Isabella did many things in her life that included teaching, advertising & publicity, and started a medical insurance claims filing service. But she was most passionate about her photography and art and went on to create Shadow Creature Creations. She captured some gorgeous and iconic moments and places in the coastal area that were featured in books and won awards. Pen, acrylic, watercolor, or pencil were perfectly suitable when she had a pet in mind to capture on paper forever. She did all this with her lovely 4-legged assistants by her side. Isabella found great satisfaction and fulfillment working alongside other local artists in the San Dieguito Art Guild. Aside from this, she found joy in conversing about days of old, way into the wee hours of the morning, and sharing delicious, homemade meals with friends and family.

Isabella is survived by her brother David C. Breasted of Washington, DC, her nephew, David C. Breasted Jr., of Centerville, Massachusetts, her sister, Sarah Shong and her brother-in-law, Richard Shong of Mission, Texas, her niece Catron Breasted Enloe and her family in Simpsonville, SC, and her three cousins: Patty Ferguson Doar, Bob Ferguson, and Phyllis Ferguson Seidel. Isabella was preceded in death by her brother, Macomb Breasted, her aunt, Margaret Richmond, and her parents.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.encinitaschapel.com for the Breasted family.